Designated Survivor

Previously on Designated Survivor...

Warehouse burns down, dead body turns up, you're there.

Whatever you're mixed up in, your hands better be clean.

The account in St. Lucia in your name

that Eric Little opened is damning.

Unless Hannah Wells can find the banker who set it up,

we cannot clear you.

If Lang confesses that he was working at Lloyd's behest

to make it look like the First Lady was getting a payola from Icarus,

we can clear her name.

I'm gonna hit the loo. See you in a second.

Mr. Lang.

We just missed him.

Someone tipped him off.

You need to fire Foerstel.

He's doing his job. Maybe not the way we want him to,

but I can't fire him for that. If I did, who would I be?

My husband.

I ran Lang's cell phone. You were right.

Somebody called him right before you got to his condo.

Call came from 4th and H.

I'm gonna hit the loo. I'll meet you there.

Hannah, where did you go?

What are you doing?

I was gonna get some water.

I could use some myself.

Too much red wine.

You don't have to get me drunk to take advantage of me.

Oh, you just can't handle your alcohol, sport.

I'll get you some aspirin.

Wait.

I know a better hangover cure.

With dozens dead, billions in damage and more than one million acres consumed,

the Shenandoah fire's now one of the worst in American history.

After weeks of battle, the question now is

whether the government will throw in the towel.

No, the question now is if doing so will look like abject surrender.

It's an act of God.

To voters, the president is God. God should be able to put out a fire.

This fire's lasted 26 days and we've barely made a dent.

Seth, how would you make this announcement?

I can get quotes from leading conservation experts

saying that letting the fire burn is ecologically sound.

Okay, we're gonna let this burn itself out.

- Prepare the statement. - Yes, sir.

Aaron, we're about to announce that we're pulling back.

Is everyone there safe?

95% of it, sir.

National Park Service's going door-to-door to clear the remaining holdouts.

I'll monitor the situation closely.

Okay, thank you for your hard work. Finish up and get back home.

- As soon as I can, sir. - Okay.

Sir, you need to evacuate now.

We're on a religious retreat.

I appreciate that,

but a command decision's been made to let this fire burn itself out.

- How many are you? - Twenty of us.

We can bring you down.

No, thanks. We have transportation.

Get moving. Fire jumps that ridge, you're out of time.

Understood. Thank you, sir.

You know what to do.

They're called the Church of the Witnesses of the Covenant.

- A cult? - Evidence is to the contrary.

Few hundred members, taxpayers.

No legal problems, solid citizens.

If they're trying to barbecue themselves, they're a cult.

You're an atheist.

You think anyone who's God-fearing is loony.

I'm agnostic, but I do believe

letting 20 folks burn on federal land during Christmas

- is bad political mojo. -

Also, the 20 people.

- How long's he been in there, Mike? - Fifteen minutes.

- - These usually last 30 minutes.

This one will go longer.

He's getting every vet's detailed deployment history.

Clear the decks.

Oh, boy.

- Sorry, girls. We'll find you later. - Aw...

- You wanna pull him out? - No.

You're the Chief of Staff.

You're right. I'm ordering you to pull him out.

Secretary Pilson, what have you got?

Fire's crested Blackrock Gap.

Which means another 300,000 acres are as good as lost.

How long till it gets down to the bottom of the valley?

An hour, tops.

Unless the Forest Service continues to deploy its assets.

But hundreds of people will be in danger.

To save 20 who can leave but won't. It's not ideal, sir.

Either for the firefighters or the churchgoers in that cabin.

Are we sure this isn't a hostage situation?

Doesn't appear so, sir.

The group's spokesperson is their deacon, David Sheridan.

He'll only speak to the White House.

What leverage has he got to demand that?

The leverage of knowing I won't let 20 people die

just 'cause I wouldn't talk to them.

I don't have a choice.

I don't want you involved in this. We need an emissary.

You're right. Let's see if Aaron can talk 'em down.

Mr. Sheridan, if you wanna talk, we'll listen.

But this conversation can't happen here.

We're not afraid, Mr. Shore, but you obviously are.

So I'll get to the point.

- Grace Morgan. - I don't know who that is.

Our parishioner Carrie Morgan's six-month-old baby girl

in custody of the federal government.

- For what? - Medical treatment.

Grace has a rare congenital heart condition.

And the medical intervention the doctors recommend,

it goes against scripture.

You're refusing to let her have the surgery?

No, sir. We're insisting on honoring God's word.

- Where is Grace now? - At Walter Reed.

As soon as the government releases her to her mother, we will come down.

I have a bus waiting for anyone who wishes to be transported to safety.

Anyone who does should go with Mr. Shore.

No one should be here except of their own free will.

Sir, this negotiation will take time. You have hours, maybe minutes.

Then I suggest you speak to the appropriate authorities

because we've already convened with ours.

Yeah, this is Aaron Shore. Put me through.

Mr. President, we have a big problem.

- Sync and corrections by explosiveskull Colored HI by GoldBerg_44

- Hey. - Hey.

Subpoena prep.

We have to meet Kendra this afternoon before I head over to the FBI.

I cleared the decks.

Seth wants to move the National Christmas Tree Lighting

to tomorrow afternoon, okay?

Sure. Give the public a sunny image in case it's a bad news day, right?

Something like that.

I'll be in the Oval if you need me.

- -

Thank you.

Thanks for agreeing to see me.

Your daughter's beautiful, Carrie.

And so very sick.

They say Grace has tetralogy of Fallot.

Not enough blood is getting to her lungs, not enough oxygen.

She'll turn blue first.

And then, eventually...

None of that has to happen.

I've spoken with the doctors

and with open-heart surgery, she has a chance.

- That's not an option. - Why not?

Transfusions.

The Bible commands us to abstain from blood

because only God is the giver of life.

The Bible also commands us to heal the sick.

Yes.

But your choice would condemn her.

No. It would allow her to laugh and play and grow up.

I understand why the president sent you, Ms. Rhodes.

You know scripture.

You should know none of those things matter

if we have to violate God's word in order to attain them.

This is the test we face.

Honoring God when it's easier not to.

Grace doesn't know anything about a test. She is just trying to breathe.

And I would give my life to help her do that,

but she's in God's hands now.

Okay, thank you, Emily. Keep me posted.

Surgeons are ready, but the mother won't give her consent.

Why do we need it?

It's illegal for a parent to withhold lifesaving treatment

from their child based on religion.

It's not clear that it will work.

Open-heart surgery with transfusions on an infant? It's risky.

If there is no guarantee of the outcome, we're in a gray area.

Which means they're staying in that cabin to keep the pressure on.

Aaron, how's it looking on the fire front?

Precarious. I just spoke to the Parks Department union rep.

He's threatening to tell the firefighters to stand down.

It'll be hard to control the narrative on this one if it drags on.

Religious activists could slam you for interfering with the mother's rights.

Children's rights activists will declare you public enemy

if you let the baby die.

Do we have legal options that will help us?

There's no legal prohibition for standing in the path of a fire.

Unless you're barking mad, which these people clearly are.

Clearly? No. But we can challenge their competency.

If they're a danger to themselves, we can forcibly remove them.

Which would clear the way to operate on Grace

and solve our problem.

Aaron, I wanna speak to the man who is leading these people.

- I'll set up the call, sir. - Okay, thank you.

I need to know if Damian tipped off that banker.

He may be part of the plot to frame the First Lady.

And he may be connected to Lloyd.

I can confirm two things.

Damian's SIM card proves

the call that tipped off the banker came from his number.

And his phone was cloned.

Meaning what?

Someone could have used his number to make him look guilty.

- Okay. - Or Damian cloned it himself

to throw us off the scent in case he came under suspicion.